1. Field
The present invention relates to a laser scanning microscope such as a confocal laser scanning microscope and a confocal fluorescence laser scanning microscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been proposed a laser scanning microscope in which an optical system for light stimulus is combined with an optical system for imaging (refer to Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H10-206742). With the use of this microscope, it is possible to apply a stimulus to a part of a sample with light of specific wavelength and to observe a change generated in the periphery of the part of the sample (light stimulus observation).
The laser scanning microscope includes a plurality of scanning optical systems and one detecting optical system, in which the detecting optical system is optically coupled to a sample via one scanning optical unit among the plurality of scanning optical systems (refer to Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-189290). Therefore, a fluorescence generated from a fluorescent reagent exited by a first light beam advances in the opposite direction along the same light path as that of the first light beam and guided to the detecting optical system. Further, a fluorescence generated from a fluorescent reagent exited by a second light beam also advances in the opposite direction along the same light path as that of the first light beam and guided to the detecting optical system.
However, in the microscope disclosed in Patent Document 1, the optical system for light stimulus exists independently from the optical system for imaging, so that both a light source and a galvanometer scanner disposed in the optical system for light stimulus can be used only for applying the light stimulus.
For instance, even if an imaging wavelength and a light stimulus wavelength of a certain sample are the same, there is a need to mount each one of the same light sources on both the optical system for imaging and the optical system for light stimulus.
Further, in the microscope disclosed in Patent Document 2, the fluorescence generated from the fluorescent reagent exited by the second light beam is guided to the detecting optical system by using a first scanning unit (scanner) which is different from a second optical scanning unit (scanner) used for scanning with the second light beam, so that the both scanners have to be the same type, and to obtain images, they have to be synchronized in an accurate manner.